Village illustration shows American power

Mike TowerJust My Opinion

Published: Sunday, January 6, 2013 at 8:58 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, January 6, 2013 at 8:58 a.m.

Two years ago, I wrote a column titled “If Our World Were a Village.” In it, our world's 7 billion inhabitants were condensed into an imaginary village of 100 people. (The demographics used are not perfect, but are very close in terms of implications to be drawn.) In this new version, I have added a new segment with a U.S. village also converted into a village of 100 instead of the 310-plus million humans who occupy our nation.

Consider the implications of the following for the global village:

◆ 18 of the villagers are white, the rest are not. (In 1950, 27 were white, and by 2050 less than 10 will be.)

◆ 33 are Christian, 19 Muslim, 13 Hindu, six Buddhist, and 29 either “other” or no religion.

◆ 24 have no electricity, 33 have an unsafe water supply, 50 are malnourished, and two are dying of either AIDS or malnutrition.

◆ 67 cannot read or write, and only one has a college degree.

◆ 60 live in Asia, 14 in Africa, 12 in Europe, eight in Latin America and fewer than six in all of North America.

◆ Fewer than five villagers live in the United States, yet for decades they have managed to produce and consume around one quarter of the entire global village's goods and services.

As a United States citizen, what are your initial reactions? Do you feel fortunate to live in such an incredibly wealthy country? How do you feel about the massive imbalance in production and consumption? Have we done enough to share our bounty with those less fortunate?

Were Americans entitled to this positive imbalance as a simple birthright? Do you think God did indeed bless the United States of America? If so, do you think we have collectively done all we should to show our gratitude to God?

Does this help you better understand the almost endless supply of labor outside the U.S. willing to work for dramatically lower wages, and why major American corporations will continue outsourcing jobs for the foreseeable future?

Think about how small a proportion of the global village is white, and yet how much incredible power and influence this minority has wielded for centuries.

Had you ever considered only a third of the world's population is Christian?

Do you see why being poor in the global village is likely much worse than being poor in America? Is it possible the United States was simply lucky?

Do you think it's inevitable our nation will go on forever producing and consuming a quarter of the world's goods and services? Do you think instead, perhaps all good things must inevitably come to an end?

If you are a citizen of any other nation in the world, what do you think? Do you better understand why so many other nations' people dislike our country?

Now let's look at the imaginary U.S. village of 100:

◆ 82 villagers live in either a city or its suburbs, leaving incredible amounts of land virtually unoccupied.

◆ 65 are non-Hispanic white, 16 are Hispanic or Latino, 13 are African- American, and five are Asian-American.

◆ Every decade, five fewer citizens in the village will be white. By 2050, the white population will be fewer than 50, while African-Americans remain at 13, Hispanic/ Latinos will be up to 30, and Asian-Americans up to eight. Half of all children today who are 1 year of age or younger have minority parents.

What are the implications for the future elections? Does “se habla espanol” come to mind?

Nearly a quarter of the children are living in families whose income is below the officially defined poverty level. Some will condemn this for being allowed in the wealthiest village in the world. However, don't forget that being poor in this village is likely preferable to being poor in almost any other nation.

The village spends nearly double the amount per capita for health care than any other developed village in the world, yet ranks no better than 32nd in health outcomes.

This has much more to do with government policies than our medical system, which is technically among the very best in the world. Our leaders have made it policy to not provide universal health care. The fact that many millions lack access to quality health care accounts for our poor overall ranking.

Seventy-five in this village define themselves as being some denomination of Christian (25 Catholic, 16 Baptist, 33 other Christian denominations, 1-plus Mormon.) Twenty have no religious affiliation, 1-plus are Jewish, and less than one, Muslim.

As you look at the demographics for the global and U.S. villages, you cannot escape concluding how comparatively blessed our nation has been and remains. Now if we can find a way to prevent our politicians from completely failing our nation, we might continue to be one of the greatest nations in the world for generations to come. However, it's a very big “if” these days.

<p>Two years ago, I wrote a column titled “If Our World Were a Village.” In it, our world's 7 billion inhabitants were condensed into an imaginary village of 100 people. (The demographics used are not perfect, but are very close in terms of implications to be drawn.) In this new version, I have added a new segment with a U.S. village also converted into a village of 100 instead of the 310-plus million humans who occupy our nation.</p><p>Consider the implications of the following for the global village: </p><p>◆ 18 of the villagers are white, the rest are not. (In 1950, 27 were white, and by 2050 less than 10 will be.) </p><p>◆ 33 are Christian, 19 Muslim, 13 Hindu, six Buddhist, and 29 either “other” or no religion. </p><p>◆ 24 have no electricity, 33 have an unsafe water supply, 50 are malnourished, and two are dying of either AIDS or malnutrition. </p><p>◆ 67 cannot read or write, and only one has a college degree. </p><p>◆ 60 live in Asia, 14 in Africa, 12 in Europe, eight in Latin America and fewer than six in all of North America. </p><p>◆ Fewer than five villagers live in the United States, yet for decades they have managed to produce and consume around one quarter of the entire global village's goods and services.</p><p>As a United States citizen, what are your initial reactions? Do you feel fortunate to live in such an incredibly wealthy country? How do you feel about the massive imbalance in production and consumption? Have we done enough to share our bounty with those less fortunate?</p><p>Were Americans entitled to this positive imbalance as a simple birthright? Do you think God did indeed bless the United States of America? If so, do you think we have collectively done all we should to show our gratitude to God?</p><p>Does this help you better understand the almost endless supply of labor outside the U.S. willing to work for dramatically lower wages, and why major American corporations will continue outsourcing jobs for the foreseeable future?</p><p>Think about how small a proportion of the global village is white, and yet how much incredible power and influence this minority has wielded for centuries.</p><p>Had you ever considered only a third of the world's population is Christian?</p><p>Do you see why being poor in the global village is likely much worse than being poor in America? Is it possible the United States was simply lucky?</p><p>Do you think it's inevitable our nation will go on forever producing and consuming a quarter of the world's goods and services? Do you think instead, perhaps all good things must inevitably come to an end?</p><p>If you are a citizen of any other nation in the world, what do you think? Do you better understand why so many other nations' people dislike our country?</p><p>Now let's look at the imaginary U.S. village of 100: </p><p>◆ 82 villagers live in either a city or its suburbs, leaving incredible amounts of land virtually unoccupied. </p><p>◆ 65 are non-Hispanic white, 16 are Hispanic or Latino, 13 are African- American, and five are Asian-American.</p><p>◆ Every decade, five fewer citizens in the village will be white. By 2050, the white population will be fewer than 50, while African-Americans remain at 13, Hispanic/ Latinos will be up to 30, and Asian-Americans up to eight. Half of all children today who are 1 year of age or younger have minority parents.</p><p>What are the implications for the future elections? Does “se habla espanol” come to mind?</p><p>Nearly a quarter of the children are living in families whose income is below the officially defined poverty level. Some will condemn this for being allowed in the wealthiest village in the world. However, don't forget that being poor in this village is likely preferable to being poor in almost any other nation.</p><p>The village spends nearly double the amount per capita for health care than any other developed village in the world, yet ranks no better than 32nd in health outcomes.</p><p>This has much more to do with government policies than our medical system, which is technically among the very best in the world. Our leaders have made it policy to not provide universal health care. The fact that many millions lack access to quality health care accounts for our poor overall ranking.</p><p>Seventy-five in this village define themselves as being some denomination of Christian (25 Catholic, 16 Baptist, 33 other Christian denominations, 1-plus Mormon.) Twenty have no religious affiliation, 1-plus are Jewish, and less than one, Muslim.</p><p>As you look at the demographics for the global and U.S. villages, you cannot escape concluding how comparatively blessed our nation has been and remains. Now if we can find a way to prevent our politicians from completely failing our nation, we might continue to be one of the greatest nations in the world for generations to come. However, it's a very big “if” these days.</p><p>These are my opinions. What do you think? </p><p>Tower can be reached at mike41tower@gmail.com.</p>